An Action-Packed Halloween

New York always puts on a quite a show for Halloween – and this Saturday was no exception.

For the first time in years, I opted to join the costumed ranks by dressing up as a gypsy. A rhinestone-crusted headscarf and some fake eyelashes, and I was good to go.

Sala One Nine: Great tapas in a cozy, candlelit setting

First stop -- dinner at Sala One Nine with good friend Leila. Over some delicious tapas (ham croquettes, cheese plate, shrimp in garlic and olive oil), we had a good laugh thanks to our two servers. One was dressed as the cowboy from the Village People, another as the grim reaper.

Afterward, we caught a glimpse of the colorful crowd lining up to watch NYC’s legendary Halloween Parade. Along with an assortment of devils, cats and pinstriped inmates, I spotted a bloody health care patient and a pregnant smoking nun. Only in New York.

Trick Or Treat: Sara (left) served up plenty of Halloween goodies

Leila and I headed to the Upper West Side for our friend Sara’s intimate Halloween bash. Sara outdid herself with homemade treats. Among the creations she spent 12 hours preparing were pumpkin cake, meringue kisses, Rice Krispie treats, apple cake, chocolate chip cookies and vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.

Once I had eaten enough to go into a sugar coma, I made my way back across town to meet up with galpal Heidi at UES bistro Baraonda for “Scaraoke.”

All Dressed Up: Heidi and me at Baraonda

It was an endless parade of great costumes at the party, from Alice in Wonderland characters and hippies to a drag queen emcee and – my personal favorite – a cereal killer (get it?) wearing a knife and blood-stained Cheerios.

What A Crowd: Colorful costumes reigned at Baraonda’s bash

While waiting to submit my Karaoke song (Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional”) to the DJ, I chatted with her cute assistant and cowboy-for-the-night Tim. Later, as I was leaving the party around 2am, Tim asked—

“Can I walk you home and make out with you?”

Laughing, I said that he could walk me home but there would be no making out.

“But, it’s Halloween,” he insisted.

“Technically, it’s not Halloween anymore,” I said.

Ghoulish excuses or not, it was fun to flirt with a cowboy – as any good gypsy would do.

Coming up…a date with my favorite HurryDate guy and a swanky party some of NFL superstars.